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Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Three note chords consisting of a root - third - and fifth.






2. A period in history dating from the 14th to 16th centuries. This period signified the rebirth of music - art - and literature.






3. Short movement or interlude connecting the main parts of the composition.






4. An instrumental lament with praise for the dead.






5. Music of a particular form consisting of four movements. Each of the movements differ in tempo - rhythm - and melody; but are held together by subject and style.






6. A single line of music played or sung. A musical sentence.






7. Includes all twelve notes of an octave.






8. Music composed such that each note is used the same number of times.






9. Music that is easy to listen to and understand.






10. Often used in overtures - a composition that uses passages from other movements of the composition in its entirety.






11. Pertains to tone or tones.






12. A chord progression that seems to lead to resolving itself on the final chord; but does not.






13. A separate section of a larger composition.






14. Music written for chorus and orchestra. Most often religious in nature.






15. A scale consisting of only whole-tone notes. Such a scale consists of only 6 notes.






16. A form of music written for marching in two-step time. Originally the march was used for military processions.






17. A sequence of chords that brings an end to a phrase - either in the middle or the end of a composition.






18. Male singers who were castrated to preserve their alto and soprano vocal range.






19. A short and simple melody performed by a soloist that is part of a larger piece.






20. The intonation - pitch - and modulation of a composition expressing the meaning - feeling - or attitude of the music.






21. The interval between two notes. Two whole tones and one semitone make up the distance between the two notes.






22. A drama where the words are sung instead of spoken.






23. Music written to be sung or played in unison.






24. Atonal and violent style used as a means of evoking heightened emotions and states of mind.






25. A set of five musicians who perform a composition written for five parts.






26. An important characteristic of the Romantic period. It is a style where the strict tempo is temporarily abandoned for a more emotional tone.






27. Suite of Baroque dances.






28. Two or more voices or instruments playing the same note simultaneously.






29. A canon where the melody is sung in two or more voices. After the first voice begins - the next voice starts singing after a couple of measures are played in the preceding voice. All parts repeat continuously.






30. A symbol indicating that the note is to be diminished by one semitone.






31. A sequence of songs - perhaps on a single theme - or with texts by one poet - or having continuos narrative.






32. A composition written for three voices and instruments performed by three people






33. A short light musical drama.






34. Successive notes of a key or mode either ascending or descending.






35. A group of 4 instruments - two violins - a viola - and cello.






36. A song or hymn celebrating Christmas.






37. A 17th century dance written in Quadruple time - always beginning on the third beat of the measure.






38. A 19th century square dance written for 4 couples.






39. The range of an instrumental or a vocal part.






40. A string of chords played in succession.






41. Written for 2 to 10 solo parts featuring one instrument to a part. Each part bears the same importance.






42. A dance written in triple time - where the accent falls on the first beat of each measure.






43. A rhythmic succession of musical tones - a melody for instruments and voices.






44. Combining a number of individual but harmonizing melodies. Also known as counterpoint.






45. The tonal characteristics determined by the relationship of the notes to the tone.






46. Time signature with three beats to the measure.






47. The unit of musical rhythm.






48. A harmonic given off by a note when it is played.






49. A period in history dating from the 14th to 16th centuries. This period signified the rebirth of music - art - and literature.






50. Pleasing combination of two or three tones played together in the background while a melody is being played. Harmony also refers to the study of chord progressions.